The Journal of Contemporary History invites papers for a special issue on “The 50th Anniversary of the Argentine Coup d'état of 1976.” Dr. Claudia Kedar (the Hebrew University of Jerusalem) will serve as guest editor of this special issue.
Topic: On March 24, 1976, a U.S.-backed civic-military coup overthrew Argentina's President Isabel Martínez de Perón. The coup, which installed the bloodiest dictatorship in the history of the country, was led by General Jorge Rafael Videla, Admiral Emilio Eduardo Massera and Brigadier-General Orlando Ramón Agosti. The dictatorship period (March 1976 - December 1983), was marked by state terrorism, grave and systematic human rights violations, an unprecedented debt crisis, a war with Britain, and a profound neoliberalization of the economy. The dictatorship was supported by civilians, businessmen, and certain sectors of the Catholic Church. With the return to democracy, Argentina opened the so-called "Trial of the Juntas" – a unique and unprecedented judicial process conducted by a democratic government against members of the dictatorship.
For this special issue we invite 500-word abstracts on any topic related to the processes that led to the coup, the coup itself, the dictatorship years, and the transition to democracy. Proposals for original research, should offer new evidence and insight in the fields of political, economic, social, diplomatic, intellectual, cultural and/or legal history.
We will consider abstracts treating, among others:
- Actors in Argentina, including but not limited to the military, the Church, political parties, the unions, guerrilla movements, intellectuals, the media, members of the judiciary, teachers, the private sector, woman, children, victims and perpetrators.
- Actors at the regional and international level, including but not limited to democratic and dictatorial regimes in Latin America, political parties and social movements in the region, Castro's Cuba, the US administration, governments in Europe, China, and the Third World; international organizations, the international financial community, the Vatican, etc.
- The political, social and economic processes that paved the way to the coup.
- The coup itself, including but not limited to its planners, its supporters and opponents at home and abroad, the role of civilians in the decision making-process.
- Political, economic, social, and legal aspects of the dictatorship.
- Human Rights violations and the National Security Doctrine.
- The collapse of the dictatorial regime and the transition to democracy.
In order to be considered for the special issue, all abstracts(max. 500 words) and manuscripts should be based on original and hitherto unpublished research. Manuscripts should be submitted in English and should not exceed 8000 words, excluding footnotes, which should number no more than 100. All papers must be successfully peer reviewed through the Journal of Contemporary History’s standard process to be included in the final issue. Prospective authors should consult the Journal of Contemporary History author guidelines: https://journals.sagepub.com/author-instructions/JCH
Timeline and Requirements:
- Abstracts due to the guest editor by December 30, 2022 (abstracts should be submitted directly to: Claudia.kedar@mail.huji.ac.il).
- Feedback on Proposals and Decisions by January 31, 2023
- Final papers due to the guest editor for submission to the Journal of Contemporary History: December 1, 2023
- Expected completion of peer review process August-November 2025
- The publication date of the special issue is expected in January or April 2026
Proposals and questions related to this Special Issue should be addressed to the guest editor, Claudia Kedar (claudia.kedar@mail.huji.ac.il).
The Journal of Contemporary History (JCH) is a leading quarterly peer-reviewed international journal publishing articles and book reviews on twentieth-century history (post-1930), covering a broad range of historical approaches including social, economic, political, diplomatic, intellectual and cultural. Now over forty years old, the journal has long been established as essential reading for all scholars in contemporary European and international history.
Dr. Claudia Kedar is a historian, member of the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies & The Institute of History, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Contemporary History.